High School

Palladino: State swimming heavyweights put on a show With VIDEO report BY JOE PALLADINO REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

They sure know how to throw a swim meet in Cheshire. First, there were three teams with superb championship pedigrees: Brookfield, the defending South-West Conference and Class M champion and State Open runner-up; Sacred Heart, the defending Naugatuck Valley League and Class S champion, and, of course, Cheshire, a name that has come to define swimming in Connecticut.

They used nine lanes at the Cheshire Community Pool, contested diving and swimming at the same time, and there was even some water polo going on at the far end of the pool.

This was serious stuff, especially from Brookfield. The Bobcats posted huge wins over the Rams, 129-57, and the Hearts, 118-68, while Sacred Heart slipped past Cheshire, 96-90.

There was fast stuff going on here, especially from Matt Moen of Brookfield, who won the 200 free (1:49.41), the 100 breaststroke (1:05.38), and was the lead leg in the winning 200 free relay (1:35.38). The Bobcats are 8-0 and getting ready for an SWC showdown next week at Pomperaug.

"We have a really good team, Pomperaug is our big rival and we get them Tuesday night," said Brookfield coach Brian Reiff. "This is a friendly rivalry we have developed with (Cheshire and Sacred Heart). It was an exciting night, the energy was there, and kids are swimming fast."

Reiff chuckled when he added, "Without sounding corny, we want to win championships. Everybody does. That's why we get in the water."

And that's why this was a solid meet for Sacred Heart. The defeat was the first for the Hearts (8-1), but as Connor Newton said, "It is really all about the competition. Cheshire and Brookfield are really good teams, and it definitely was good for us to really push to want more. That is really good for the team."

The Hearts won some races against the loaded Bobcats, first taking the 200 medley (1:36.57) behind Ray Snyder IV, Newton, Liam Coleman, and Mike Saunders. Snyder won the 50 free (23.14), Pete Gallino diving (238.95), Newton the backstroke (58.15), and the Hearts won the 400 free relay in 3:33.33, behind Coleman, Shaun Roberts, Snyder, and Newton.

The Hearts are 4-0 in the NVL and the two-time defending champions, but as Snyder noted, "It will be a four-way meet for the NVL championship."

The Hearts are in that group, along with Holy Cross, Naugatuck and Torrington. All those dual meets are still upcoming.

The Hearts graduated four All-State swimmers, but still return a load of experience. Snyder said it is going to take "all the new kids and all the kids who did not score points last year to step up."

Speaking of new kids stepping up, that is precisely what Cheshire coach Fran Connolly needs from the Rams (5-3). Cheshire started the week unbeaten, but lost to Amity and lost twice Friday. But Connolly is thrilled that the Rams "made it a competitive meet" against the Hearts, which is an event that has not been close in recent seasons.

The Rams swim against Fairfield Prep next week, "so we'll go from 5-0 to 5-4, and then we'll pick up from there," he said. "These are the powerful teams in the state. It is all about the times and the work ethic in practice. We had events tonight where we put up three freshman. We did well. We had a lot of fast swims."

It is that time of the swim season when the megameets stack up. Brookfield at Pomperaug on Tuesday is mega with a capital M, and next Friday the Hearts square off with Naugatuck.

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